Archive | May, 2017

I love how this fabric swatch magnet board is both a helpful tool and a piece of art on its own. It looks so good in my sewing room!

Fabric swatches are so helpful when choosing fabrics for your sewing projects. Just like paint chips help you select paint colors, fabric swatch cards help you select just the right color for whatever you’re sewing.

Many fabric manufacturers sell color cards that have swatches of all the fabrics in a collection – such a great resource when making color palettes for your projects. But the problem is that the swatches are often affixed in a set layout, not allowing you to mix and match individual fabrics to your liking. If you’re like me, you want to look at fabric colors independently and arrange them to create unique color combinations.

The answer? Cut them up, just like paint chips! I’ll show you how to cut out fabric swatch card sections, stick magnetic sheets on the back, cut out the individual swatch magnets, and slap them up on a dry erase board. Whiteboards are magnetic! Who knew?!

In this tutorial, I’m sharing two methods: using a fabric swatch card that IS cut-out-friendly, and using one that’s not. Kona Cotton color cards (by Robert Kaufman) are cut-out-friendly, since the fabric swatches and text are all separated and glued in place so that you can easily cut them apart to make individual fabric swatch cards. Most all of the other manufacturer swatch cards are NOT cut-out-friendly, meaning the fabric swatches overlap each other and the text doesn’t line up. No matter which type you have, you can hack your color card – I’ll show you how.

Magnetic dry erase board. I used a 35″ x 23″ whiteboard and this smaller 23″ x 17″ whiteboard would work well for fewer swatches. Make sure it is magnetic – some are, and some aren’t. Also, make sure it’s big enough to fit all your fabric swatches.

Installation supplies. Use an artist easel as a nice display support, or use hanging hardware & tools to put the dry erase board up on the wall.

IF USING A SWATCH CARD THAT ISNOTCUT-OUT-FRIENDLY (OR IF USING YOUR OWN LOOSE FABRIC SWATCHES)

Same items as above, plus the items below. Make sure the fabric swatches are at least 1” or 2” square (your choice). I prefer to use 1” for fabrics that read as solid colors and 2” for prints.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR A FABRIC SWATCH CARD THAT IS CUT-OUT-FRIENDLY (LIKE KONA COTTON)

1. Cut out large sections of cards. Cut out the name of the fabric collection, too.

2. Cut out matching-sized adhesive magnetic sheets. To do this: with a pencil, trace the edges of the large card sections onto the paper side of the magnet. Then cut them out. Or, if you cut them a tiny bit smaller, they’ll be easier to align in the next step.

3. Peel away the adhesive paper from the magnets and press the card sections onto the exposed sticky surface. Align them as best as you can.

4. Cut out the individual swatch cards. Just cut on the lines. You now have a bunch of little fabric magnets!

6. Apply a magnet strip to back of a color wheel and place it on the whiteboard. Use it as a guide to create color palettes! I pressed the adhesive magnet to the back except for the middle portion, so the wheel can still spin around.

7. Install your fabric swatch organizer (formerly just a plain ol’ whiteboard). Put it on the wall, on an artist easel, or just keep it mobile to move around as you want. Enjoy! This whiteboard measures 35″ x 23” and is holding 303 1” fabric swatches, with lots of extra room for creating palettes.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR A FABRIC SWATCH CARD THAT IS NOT CUT-OUT-FRIENDLY (OR IF USING YOUR OWN LOOSE FABRIC SWATCHES)

2. Cut out 1” squares of each of the fabrics. Or 2” squares if you’re using that size of template. A quilting ruler and rotary cutter make it easy. Make sure to keep the fabric squares in order, so you can label them correctly later on.

3. Apply Elmer’s washable school glue along the top 1” of the card rows. Smooth the glue with the foam brush. If using 2” squares, glue along the top 2”. Or, only apply a glue line to just the very top area if you want to keep the swatch loose to be able to feel the fabric between your fingers.

4. Press the fabric squares onto the glued area. After pressing with my fingers, I use a spare sheet of card stock to temporarily place on top and smooth out the entire sheet with my hands – like a pressing cloth.

5. Hand write a fabric details caption under the swatch. Use a fine-point black marker and very small print. TIP: You don’t have to do this step if you get the pre-populated PDF, linked above.

6. Repeat for each of the fabric swatches. To keep everything in order, I do one row at a time.

7. Cut away and discard the empty outer margins. If using a manufacturer’s swatch card, cut out and keep the name of the fabric collection.

8. Cut out matching-sized adhesive magnetic sheets. I’ve sized the swatch card template PDF to be close to 8×10” (a common size for magnetic sheets), so trimming will be minimal or not needed at all. With a pencil, trace the edges of the large card sections onto the paper side of the magnet. Then cut them out. Or, if you cut them a tiny bit smaller, they’ll be easier to align in the next step.

9. Peel away the adhesive paper from the magnets and press the card sections onto the exposed sticky surface. Align them as best as you can.

10. Cut out the individual swatch cards. Just cut on the lines. You now have a bunch of little fabric magnets!

12. Apply a magnet strip to back of a color wheel and place it on the whiteboard. Use it as a guide to create color palettes! I pressed the adhesive magnet to the back except for the middle portion, so the wheel can still spin around.

13. Install your fabric swatch organizer (formerly just a plain ol’ whiteboard). Put it on the wall, on an artist easel, or just keep it mobile to move around as you want. Enjoy! This whiteboard measures 20″ x 16” and is holding 50 1” fabric swatches, with lots of extra room for creating palettes.

TIPS

Make one of these for each color card and have fun making color palettes!

Consider making a single large 2” swatch card for each fabric collection, and only glue the top of the fabric square in place (about 1/4”) so you can feel the fabric and compare to other brands.

The 2” swatches work well for prints. I like making these for basic fabrics that won’t go out-of-print (OOP) anytime soon. These larger swatches show more of the fabric motif and help me visualize combos with other lines of fabric.